Commentary

Ultra High Net Worth Individuals Embracing Social Media

The number of affluent
Americans using social media is increasing, according to a survey conducted in the second quarter of this year by Spectrem Group.

The
proportion of “mass affluent” Americans -- meaning individuals with a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million -- who say they use Facebook has increased steadily from 29% in 2010 to 61%
this year, while the proportion of “millionaires” (net worth of $1 million to $5 million) increased from 26% to 55%. Similarly, the proportion of ultra high net worth individuals ($5
million to $25 million) who use Facebook jumped from 27% from 52% over the same period. Over the last year, this represents a 1% increase among mass affluents, a 1% decrease among millionaires, and a
5% increase among ultra high net worth individuals.

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The proportion of mass affluents using LinkedIn has
increased from 10% in 2010 to 31% this year, while the proportion of ultra high net worth individuals jumped from 18% to 40% over the same period; the latter figure represents an 8% increase over last
year. On the other hand Twitter lags far behind, with just 7% of ultra high net worth individuals saying the use the microblogging site, along with 9% of millionaires and 11% of mass affluents. The
UHNW figure represents a 1% decrease from last year.

Earlier this year a study by Cogent Research found
that 34% of affluent investors use social media -- including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs -- as a source of information for personal finance and investment decisions. Within this
group, 70% -- or 24% of the total -- said they have shifted investments or begun (or changed) their relationships with investment providers due to information derived from social
media.